I like how he says he giggled when he saw the DD+ mono soundtrack and wondered if such a thing really exists. Yeah Peter, you heard it on The Searchers and Casablanca, remember? :)

Those reviews claim the aspect ratio is 2.20:1. That can't be right. This was a 1.85:1 movie theatrically and on the last DVD. Frankly, it looks overly tight even at that ratio.

Obviously a typo, I watched it yesterday, it's 16x9. Not a showcase HD-DVD (wouldn't expect it to be either), but I enjoyed it.

I also saw Christmas Vacation and I thought the PQ was pretty comparable.. both are a little on the soft side, but definitely better than the SD, and much better than the HD Digest Review indicated. If anything, I give the nod to Christmas Vacation, color presentation particularly on the outdoor night scenes looked really nice. Saw no problems with either, and I'd recommend both.

Those are absolutely garbage reviews period. Yet another reviewer shows they have absolutely zero knowledge of movie transfers and what to expect from a HD transfer. While I will admit I haven't watched the whole movie yet so there could be some dirt and such as he stated however the fact that his review takes on a negative tone because it was shot with a soft focus filter is ridiculous. THAT IS THE WAY IT WAS SHOT AND THE WAY THE DIRECTOR WANTED IT LOOK THUS THAT IS THE WAY A PROPER TRANSFER OF THIS MOVIE SHOULD LOOK REGARDLESS OF THE FORMAT ITS BEING PRESENTED ON.

I am sorry but I am so sick of reviewers bashing a transfer because its an artistically stylized film. Reviewers of all people should know this stuff. its not rocket science for christ sake. If that is the way the director shot the film then that is the way it should look regardless of the format its being watched on. Blah, cant even read any more reviews from people like this, he just gets added to list of reviewers I avoid like the plague. It still surprises me how many reviewers there are out there that just dont get it. This is a pretty substantial improvement over the SD version and it isn't supposed to look razor sharp and super 3D as this reviewer was obviously hoping it would.

Again I have not watched the whole film so there may in fact be some of the dirt and scratches he referred to but this film should without a doubt have a soft look to it as that is the way it was intended to be viewed. Do not listen to this guy and judge the transfer for yourself. I am happy with what I have seen so far (Watched like 30 minutes).

I have a question tho, why are the BD and HD-DVD reviews word for word identical? Did this guy even watch both discs or did he just watch one and then just use that review for both releases? That is really really lame IMO, even if it is basically the same transfer just on a different format. These titles should get different reviews period. I just think it is really super lame that he took the identical review and used it for both releases. I am so done with that guy as a reviewer.

He even forgot to switch the Blu-Ray for HD-DVD in the HD-DVD review for this passage.

"All of those extras have been ported over to this Blu-ray release."

Honestly any site that would basically use the same identical review on multiple releases should be banned from reviewing titles especially cause we have a format war going on and everyone is very interested in seeing what, if any, the differences in the transfer are. Even if there are none and its an identical transfer you can at least say that instead of recycling reviews for multiple releases. Super lame IMO

You lost me at "garbadge..."

Good I would rather you just skip it like you did then get into some kind of discussion about proper spelling and such. Cant stand people that bicker about spelling on messege boards.

PS...

I don't think he watched the whole movie, or if he did, he skimmed thru it. Some scenes look flat, but (in particular) the Santa Claus visit & Xmas morning opening up presents look very, very nice.

not only that, but he talks about Ralphie saying the F word at the dinner table. Anyone who has seen the movie knows it's on the side of the road when the family gets a flat tire.

This is starting to really annoy me too. A lot of HD reviews fault the image if it falls short of anything other than 3D, ultrasharp, photorealistic clarity. It shows a lack of understanding about the art and craft of filmmaking, which in turns undercuts my confidence in the reviewer's overall opinion.

Ordered. Thanks for the input!

Hey Adam, I like your conclusion on You, Me, And Dupree. :lol: It made me think of this:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...rkSandwich.jpg

I finally watched Enemy of the State on BD and was very impressed. I only listened to the Dolby Digital track and even it sounded fantastic. I will go back and listen to parts with the PCM mix, which should be even better. The image really impressed me. I had put in the Director's Cut dvd in the A1 for comparison and the BD has so much more detail and color in it. It definitely makes the dvd look faded. The opening scene is tough to judge because of the foggy setting they're in, but after that, things looked even more crisp. I think having the dvd counterpart to compare to makes you appreciate the 1080p resolution even more. This one is definitely one of my favorite discs on BD.

Thanks! For some reason, I misremembered them actually showing the newspaper with the two word review, and I was going to use a screen cap of that, but...oh well. Apparently I'd made that up.

Yeah, it's just Rob Reiner saying it as we see Nigel and David's reaction.

I finally saw V For Vendetta. WOW. What a fucking great film. This just shot right into my top 5 for 2006. I've got to read the graphic novel now.

Finally got to check it out, I agree, pretty amazing! :thumbsup: I think it cuts The Wild & Ice Age 2 on BD & Corpse Bride on HD-DVD.

I've got a new #1 HD-DVD reference title though... King Kong (2005) for PQ & Superman Returns for TrueHD both take a back seat to Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire, WOW!

I bought the new Rocky 2-disc dvd the other day and watched it. Received Rocky on BD today from Netflix. If I were you, I'd stick with the 2-disc dvd. The BD doesn't appear to offer much improvement in the video department. It looked about as good as upconverted dvd. Granted, this was a low budget film that doesn't exactly have a large selection of color. The DTS mix was fantastic however, but not enough to justify the overpriced $39.99 tag.

That's too bad... Comcast On-Demand has the 5 Rocky movies in HD right now, I watched a little bit of the 1st one & thought it looked pretty good.

For some reason, my Comcast put Rocky IV up last week... and that's it. The other 4 flicks haven't shown up yet. :hscratch:

Did you look in all the possible places? I wish they were consistent and had one spot that listed all the HD titles. Don't know if it will help, but I made a spreadsheet, here's all the titles I found on Baltimore's CC OD the other day, at least 1 of the places where they are at, and when they are dropping off (I just subscribe to HBO & Encore, no Starz... cancelled Cinemax after grabbing the OT SW films on my DVR :) ).

Air Force One HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 1/31/2007
Aviator Premium Channels > Encore > Encore HD 1/18/2007
Boyz 'N' The Hood Free Movies > Movieplex > HD Movies 1/25/2007
Bram Stoker's Dracula Free Movies > Movies A - L 12/27/2006
Carrie Free Movies > Movies A - L 12/27/2006
Celtic Pride Premium Channels > Encore > Encore HD 2/22/2007
Cool Runnings Premium Channels > Encore > Encore HD 2/8/2007
Encino Man HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 1/18/2007
Fargo HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 1/31/2007
Fools Rush In HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 2/14/2007
Ghostbusters 2 HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 2/28/2007
Guarding Tess Free Movies > Movieplex > HD Movies 12/28/2006
Hitch Premium Channels > Encore > Encore HD 1/25/2007
Ice Princess Premium Channels > Encore > Encore HD 12/21/2006
Joe And Max Free Movies > Movieplex > HD Movies 12/21/2006
Mad Max Movies > HDTV Movies 12/30/2006
Parenthood HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 1/11/2007
Pumpkinhead HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 1/31/2007
Rocky HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 1/31/2007
Rocky 2 HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 1/31/2007
Rocky 3 HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 1/31/2007
Rocky 4 HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 1/31/2007
Rocky 5 HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 1/31/2007
Single White Female HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 1/14/2007
Sister Act 2 Premium Channels > Encore > Encore HD 2/8/2007
Swamp Thing HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 12/27/2006
Tombstone Free Movies > Movieplex > HD Movies 2/15/2007
Usual Suspects HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 1/31/2007
White Squall HD ON Demand > Free Movies > All Movies 12/28/2006

Sorry for going OT.

I've only sampled the first 15 minutes of The Hulk, due to the fact that I'm currently plowing through the Rocky Anthology set to get in gear for Rocky Balboa next Wednesday. But what I saw of the Hulk was stunning. Very vibrant looking picture. So far, the image is as clear as I've seen on either format. I can't wait to get to the big green sequences. The review at highdefdigest gave the video 5 stars!

What a coincidence! I also only sampled the 1st 15 minutes or so of Hulk... until I fell asleep! PQ did look amazing... wasn't just the movie, I was tired lol! I'll try again tonight.

PS For those who've never seen it before, the back jacket says that it is 2.35:1, which is incorrect. The OAR is 16x9, and so is the disc.

:lol:

Did everyone see Peter Bracke's review of The Hulk?
http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/hulk.html

"'Hulk' looks fantastic on HD DVD. I'm tempted to give it five stars for picture quality, despite the fact that I'm sure someone will email me, complaining that I missed that one dead pixel in frame 38,394. But fuck it, I will give it five stars -- 'Hulk' is truly one of the best catalog releases I've ever seen on either next-gen format."

I didnt care for it in the theatre, but I might actually pick this one up due to the reviews.

The DVD was also miscredited as 2.35:1, IIRC. The studio PhotoShop dweeb must have been using the same template.

I pulled mine out yesterday on it's way to Ebay, it shows 1.85:1.

Still, with Hulk at 2.35:1, The Thing at 1.85:1, and "Dazed and Confufused", I think Universal could use some QC help... at least on their covers anyways, the non-TrueHD HD-DVDs are great.

Got another batch of French Studio Canals from Tony at Exploited today, and am watching Total Recall right now, two thumbs way up! A really nice looking HD-DVD with fine detail, light years ahead of the crappy transfer on BD... Lionsgate should be ashamed of themselves. :thmbsdwn: I have no doubt that T2 will also crush it's BD counterpart & look as good as it does on the Studio Canal previews. This is the 2nd Studio Canal title I've seen (King Kong 76 being the first; Fog, First Blood, & Elephant Man coming up) ... I can't recommend them for the extras junkies because they are pretty bare-bones, but I really like their PQ & AQ so far, right up there with the best WBs & Unis. Worth the import charge IMO if you want the title bad enough.

Are there any extras on Total Recall? The AVS people were ignoring the question. :)

It comes "sans extras" from Studio Canal...

...but the picture quality..."c'est incroyable!!"

I will definitely be getting T2 and The Fog. Well worth the import price, IMO.

Yeah, nothing but the Studio Canal promo trailer... I still can't get over Ran, HOLY CRAP! -smile-
I just finished Total Recall, what a treat! Right up there with the best HD-DVDs.

I just finished The Fog, another stunner from Studio Canal. I hadn't seen it for awhile & it scared the shit out of me lol! Great detail, very vivid colors, another thumbs up!

Agree wholeheartedly. Total Recall is one of my fav guilty pleasure movies...mmmm cheesy goodness...and this is definitely a top-tier release!

I'm :drool: over Ran, too.

Good to hear about The Fog. I'm going to order it today.

One of my all-time favorite Arnie movies. Can't wait to watch the BD, which I hope looks as good as the import HD-DVD.

Favorite most quoted lines:

"Cohaagen, these people need ay-yar!"

"You make me wish I had three hands!"

You missed #1 by a mile:

"Consider it a davorce".

I have them both (for now, anyways lol)... stay far, far away from the BD Total Recall, the import HD-DVD blows it away. I'm not a Blu-basher either, the transfer is just that damn wretched in comparison.

I watched the Hulk HD DVD today and came away thoroughly impressed. Whatever you think about the movie, this is a film that looks stunning on HD DVD. The close-ups of the actors show an amazing amount of detail (it's a good thing Jennifer Connelly and Eric Bana are so photogenic, because this transfer would bring out every blemish), and the backdrops look great as well. My only regret is picking it up at FYE, because I figured there was no way Best Buy would have it out on time. Lo and behold, there were a bunch of copies at BB. :P Anyway, this is a must-have title unless you really hate the movie.

^^^
Well, you do get to see all the cracks in Sam Elliott & Nick Nolte's faces lol! I just finished Hulk & I agree with everyone else, just dynamite. PQ King of the superheroes so far, Batman and Supes both got left behind.

Too late. :(

Looks like I'll be checking out the import.

I haven't watched the BD yet, but the reviews seemed positive which is why I picked it up.